Jeep has made a series of detail changes to the Wrangler for 2023, and has resisted raising the prices again after two successive hikes last year.
The range continues to consist of two-door Wrangler Rubicon and four-door Wrangler Unlimited Night Eagle, Overland and Rubicon variants.
All models swap a leather-wrapped steering wheel for one finished in leatherette, and lose their luggage compartment floor mat.
Overland and Rubicon models also lose their Trail Rail cargo management system.
As with the Gladiator, the Wrangler Rubicon has lost its front axle disconnect. However, it retains locking front and rear differentials and sway bar disconnect, and claimed fuel economy is unchanged.
The Night Eagle gets a different wheel design, as does the Rubicon which swaps from a polished 17-inch design with black pockets to a machined black wheel. The former now becomes optional.
Both Night Eagle and Overland models swap their 650 Amp batteries for 700 Amp ones.
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MY22 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon
Finally, there’s no longer a Black/Dark Saddle interior option on the Rubicon. All models are now offered exclusively with a black interior.
While Jeep offers a punchy turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine in North America as well as a plug-in hybrid turbo four wearing 4xe branding, only the venerable Pentastar V6 is offered locally.
Early last year, Jeep hiked prices by between $6600 and $7000 across the range, and then again in August by between $6000 and a whopping $12,000.
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2024 Wrangler -
2024 Wrangler Unlimited
Jeep blamed “a convergence of global market forces”, including semiconductor shortages and rising freight and material costs.
The company recently revealed a facelifted Wrangler, which it says will be here towards the end of the year.
Changes include a new grille, new wheel designs, and a restyled dashboard featuring a larger 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system running the latest generation of Uconnect.
Pricing
- 2023 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Night Eagle: $81,450
- 2023 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon: $83,950
- 2023 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Overland: $86,950
- 2023 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon: $90,450
All prices exclude on-road costs.
Drivetrains
All 2023 Jeep Wrangler models are powered by a naturally aspirated 3.6-litre V6 engine producing 209kW of power and 347Nm of torque. It’s mated with an eight-speed automatic transmission.
There are two four-wheel drive systems available.
Night Eagle and Overland models use the Selec-Trac on-demand system with a two-speed transfer case.
Rubicon models upgrade to Jeep’s Rock-Trac on-demand system, with a two-speed transfer case, locking front and rear differentials, and an electronic front stabiliser bar disconnect. They also swap out the Dana M186 front and M200 rear axles for Dana M210 and M220 units, respectively, and gain an Off-Road+ mode.
Efficiency
The 2023 Jeep Wrangler uses 10.1L/100km on the combined cycle in two-door Rubicon guise, 9.7L/100km in the Unlimited Night Eagle and Overland, and 10.3L/100km in the Unlimited Rubicon.
The two-door Rubicon has a 66L fuel tank while all Unlimited models have an 81L tank.
All run on 91RON regular unleaded fuel.
Dimensions
The two-door Wrangler Rubicon measures 4334mm long, 1894mm wide and 1841mm tall on a 2459mm wheelbase.
The four-door Unlimited range measures 4882mm long, 1894mm wide on a 3008mm wheelbase. Height varies: it’s 1828mm tall in Night Eagle guise, 1838mm tall as an Overland, and 1848mm tall as a Rubicon.
Wading depth is 760mm across the range, though running clearance and approach, departure and breakover angles vary from model to model.
Rubicon 2-door
- 225mm of running clearance
- Approach angle of 36.6 degrees (41.9 with steel bumper)
- Breakover angle of 26.6 degrees
- Departure angle of 31.5 degrees
Unlimited Night Eagle
- 232mm of running clearance
- Approach angle of 35.2 degrees
- Breakover angle of 19.5 degrees
- Departure angle of 30.5 degrees
Unlimited Overland
- 242mm of running clearance
- Approach angle of 35.8 degrees
- Breakover angle of 20.4 degrees
- Departure angle of 31.2 degrees
Unlimited Rubicon
- 252mm of running clearance
- Approach angle of 36.5 degrees (41.7 with optional steel bumper)
- Breakover angle of 21.2 degrees
- Departure angle of 31.9 degrees
All models have skid plates protecting the fuel tank, transmission and transfer case.
Servicing and Warranty
The 2023 Jeep Wrangler requires servicing every 12 months or 12,000km.
In addition to a five-year, 100,000km warranty, Jeep offers five years of capped-price servicing. Each service costs $399.
Safety
The Jeep Wrangler has a three-star rating from ANCAP, based on testing conducted in 2019.
It received an adult occupant protection rating of 60 per cent, a child occupant protection rating of 80 per cent, a vulnerable road user protection rating of 49 per cent, and a safety assist rating of 51 per cent.
All Wranglers come standard with the following safety equipment:
- Autonomous emergency braking
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Adaptive cruise control
- Reversing camera
- Front and rear parking sensors
- Front and front-side airbags
Standard Equipment
There are three trim levels available, with the two-door exclusively offered in flagship, more off-road-oriented Rubicon spec.
The Night Eagle comes standard with the following equipment:
- 8.4-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Satellite navigation
- DAB+ digital radio
- Wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
- 7.0-inch instrument cluster screen
- 9-speaker Alpine sound system
- Climate control air-conditioning
- Remote start
- Keyless entry
- Tyre pressure monitoring
- Leatherette-wrapped steering wheel
- Cloth upholstery
- Automatic LED headlights
- LED fog lights
- 17-inch alloy wheels
- Removable doors
- Fold-down windscreen
- Removable black hardtop
The Overland uniquely offers chrome exterior accents, and comes standard with the following equipment:
- Leather-wrapped shifter and handbrake
- Leather upholstery
- Heated front seats
- Heated steering wheel
- ‘Premium’ door trim panel
- Illuminated vanity mirrors
- LED interior lighting
- Bright interior accents
- 18-inch alloy wheels
- Removable body-colour hardtop
In addition to different off-road hardware, the Rubicon also features:
- All-weather floor mats
- 17-inch alloy wheels
- Heavy-duty rock slider
- Removable black hardtop
Options
The Sky-One-Touch Power Top is a standalone option on the Unlimited Overland, while it’s bundled with body-colour fender flares as an option on the Unlimited Rubicon.
A Rubicon Premium Package adds body-colour fender flares and a body-colour three-piece hard top,.
The Trail-Ready Package (Rubicon models only) removes front parking sensors but adds:
- Steel front bumper
- Off-road camera
- 17-inch polished aluminium wheels
Colours
Bright White and Black are the standard paint colours, but there’s a wide range of other finishes available for an additional $1175.
These include:
- Sting Grey
- Firecracker Red
- Sarge Green
- Hydro Blue
- Silver Zynith
- High Velocity (yellow)
- Earl (grey)
- Punk’n (orange)
